Change Is Good (Mortal Instruments)
by Gibbyuke
Summary: After her family was torn apart and her mom was murdered, Eva is alone, on the streets. What are the creatures that murdered her mom and are now after her? Will her life ever turn for the good? This is her story. Note- I'm not sure yet which of the original MI characters are going to be in it.
1. Chapter 1 - The beginning

It was a cool afternoon in October and I was walking through town looking for something to eat. Even though I had been in New York for almost a week now, I still hadn't found a good place to get some. In Jersey it had been easy, the dumpsters in the rich suburbs overflowing with untouched food. Here, in the Big Apple, it was a whole different story.

Hi, by the way! Let me introduce myself. I'm Eva, 16 years old. You're probably wondering why I'm dumpster diving instead of sitting at the dinner table while mom cooks dinner and dad reads the paper. That is because I live on the streets. Have been for quite a while now. Why? Well, that's a long story. But hey, it's not like I have a job to get to or anything so I might as well tell you!

I used to live in a perfectly normal house somewhere in the suburbs of Passadena, with my mom, dad and older brother. We had a normal happy family life, or so I thought. When I was nine years old my dad took off, taking my brother with him. I was devastated and couldn't understand why. Most of all, I missed my brother Ty. He was a few years older than me and always protecting me. I always felt safe when he was around.

A while after they left, mom changed from a dead body into a freaked out crazy lady and she decided that we were moving to Los Angeles. She never gave me a proper explanation why. It was always "Change is good" whenever I asked about it. That whole period of time is now a bit of a blur to me. Must have been the shock of everything.

Three weeks after the move, my world fell apart. I was in bed, when suddenly I heard a lot of noise coming from downstairs. Screaming, and things crashing apart. Scared, I walked down the stairs making as little sound as possible. I looked around the corner and saw two men, holding my mom. Something was off about the way they moved, too swiftly, too balanced, and they spoke in a language I could not understand. I clasped my hand over my mouth trying not to scream that instant. Weird enough, my mom talked back to them in that same creepy, hissing language. Then, the guy closest to my mom took out a huge sword and I could no longer stop myself. I screamed, from the top of my lungs. The men turned around, too fast to be humanly possible. They had identical glowing red eyes filled with rage. Again they shouted hissing words, definitely angry. "RUN EVA, RUN!" My mom shouted, tears in her eyes showing just how bad the whole situation was. Mom never cried. Ever.

I was frozen, unable to move even a fingertip. "RUN!" Mom screamed again, but she choked on the word as the guy with the sword slit her throat. I could move again; Adrenaline thriving me forward. The men of course ran after me, but a ran without looking back. Jumping over low fences and crawling under others without looking back. After what felt like hours, I finally stopped, turning my head in every direction to see if I was safe. The men were nowhere to be seen. The adrenaline rush came to an end and I crawled into a corner of an empty, molded shed. I fell asleep without wanting to, with tears staining my face. That was the last time I cried.

When I went back to our house the next day, it was burned to the ground. I knew I was taking a huge risk going back there, but I just had to see if anything remained. I only took one thing with me from the black ruins of our house: A long bladed dagger that used to be my moms and had been in her family for ages. The handle was decorated with swirling patterns and the blade was crafted out of a shimmering kind of steel. It felt wrong, walking around what might had been my mother's ashes, so I left. I never came back there.


	2. Chapter 2 - Running

For days, maybe even weeks, I walked on my own in no specific direction. I came all the way to a small town near the borders of Nebraska. I survived mostly on food that I stole on market places and I washed myself at the bathrooms of public libraries and places like that. I remember feeling very alone, which of course, I was. I was too afraid to talk to anyone, not even to other kids that lived on the streets. Always alone.

Then one night, as I was strolling through town, I was attacked. At first I thought they were just regular robbers trying to have some fun, but then I saw their eyes. Glowing red, scary eyes. Like some crazy kind of instinct, I took the dagger out of my bag and stabbed the one that was closest to me. Black, smelling stuff oozed out of the wound stinging and burning away the flesh where it touched my skin. Of course I didn't kill it, come on, I was just a little kid and they were three grown men – or whatever the hell they were. But clearly, they didn't expect it and for a moment they were kind of stunned. A moment was all I needed to get away from them. In the few days that I had been in this city, I had done a lot of exploring and I knew most of the down alleys. To my own amazement, I got away again. I spent a few days and night in an old abandoned cellar after that. I was too afraid to do anything else. When I finally decided that I couldn't stay down there forever, I came out and left the city. Sounding pretty tough for a nine year old, right? I'm glad I was. I don't believe that I would have lived today otherwise.

After that first attack I knew there would be more to come. There had to be. And when they would come for me again, I would be prepared.

So when I arrived in North Platte, Nebraska I started to train myself. I used old matrasses, pillows and anything else I could find on the street to practice kicks, hitting and stabbing with my precious dagger. Building up stamina, jumping and climbing was easy enough: I can't even count the amount of times the police chased me after my stealing some food. These occasions became less and less frequent though, as I started to learn how to be swift and unnoticeable. Some days I would watch martial arts classes through a window and try to copy their moves. And then there were the countless days I spent in libraries, reading about fighting and all things related. I always kept on going though, never daring to stay in one place for more than one week.

The next time I was attacked by Blacks (as I had started to call them in my read, referring to the black, smelling stuff they seemed to shed instead of blood) I was already halfway through Nebraska. It was about a month and a half after the first attack. I had just finished watching the local kung fu class. It wasn't as good as the one I followed in Alliance, but I did learn an awesome high kick that could come in useful later on. As it did, only a few minutes later. I was walking back to the alley I used as a temporary home when two Blacks blocked my path. They were different from the once I saw before. One was a man with glowing ruby eyes, like the Blacks I had seen on my previous encounters. The other one, however, was more like a dog than it was human. Its big black head rested on muscular shoulders and although it was on all fours, it could easily top my 5ft3. Needless to say I was scared shitless and couldn't remember a thing of what I had been teaching myself. So, naturally, I ran. Yes I ran away AGAIN (and I ruhuhun, I run so far awahahay – Sing it!). Anywho, that day I was not as lucky as I had been on my previous encounters with Blacks. When I got back to my hiding place in the alley, a leaky shed made out of corrugated sheets, I was greeted by the dog. Without thinking, adrenalin took over again. Suddenly all my newfound skills came into action. I used the kick I learned that day to kick him a few feet back, giving myself enough time to grab the dagger out of my backpack. When the dog(ishthing) launched itself to me, I ducked while at the same time bringing my hand with the beautiful engraved dagger in the air. It sunk deep into the flesh of the Black, slicing open the upper part of its chest. I screamed and cried in pain when the black goo touched my skin, burning its way through the flannel shirt I was wearing. Still, I managed to pull the dagger back. The Black screeched, and I jumped back when it started to blaze a bright orange fire (fake fire, I would guess since there was no smoke. And fire without smoke is no real fire, right?), before disappearing into thin air. Breathing heavily, I slumped against the alley wall, staring wide-eyed at the scorched mark on the ground where the Black had lied just seconds ago. Unfortunately I did not have a lot of time to recover. While I was crawling back up, the second Black appeared from behind a dumpster. In one big leap it was right in front of me, pinning me against the wall. Fortunately, I still had the dagger in my hand. I trusted it forward, into the abdomen of the man-shaped Black. The glow in its eyes died out. Right before it bursted into orange flames, it spoke its strange ancient language. "Muoste rish Fertigo tir". That was what it said. Not that I knew what it meant for years after that.

When the second Black had disappeared, I stood there frozen for a couple of minutes. It was all utterly ridiculous when you came to think of it. Me, a nine (almost ten) year old girl was running aimlessly across the country all on my own, whilst being followed by murderous monsters filled with toxic black insides. And I had just killed two of them! Then that thought really hit me: I had just killed a man. And a doggything for all that mattered. What if the man had been just a man on some weird kind of drugs that made his eyes shine red? Did that mean that I was a killer? On the other hand, we did learn in school that it was OK to hit someone if it was self-defense. Maybe the same rule applied to murder as well? I then decided that it didn't really matter anyway. I was already doomned anyway (what with my mom getting killed and all) so it was not like God could punish me any worse than he had already). And I was already running from the Blacks so I could just as well be running from the police at the same time. With that decision, I packed up my few possessions and took off again


	3. Chapter 3 - Change is comming

A few years passed by like that: Always on the go, never staying in one place for more than a few days. Every month or two, Blacks would find me and I would kill them. By the time I was 13, most skin on my arms was covered in burn scars from the Black stuff. I learned that clothes were no use for protection against it: The stuff burned right through any fabric I had been able to put my hands on. That was why I only wore long-sleeved shirts when absolutely necessary and even then I never closed them: It had to be easy to take it off when Blacks came. Clothes were hard enough to get by as it was so it seemed like a waste to keep burning through them.

As I grew older, my fighting skills grew as well. I could easily jump and kick a Black a few yards back before throwing the dagger and killing it. I needed these improved skills: Blacks seemed to find me sooner and sooner again after every attack. I beat them every time. By the time I was 15, I was covered head to toe in burns and scars, but still living and undefeated. Over the years I had started to put question marks over my past. Why did the Blacks kill my mom? What did they want from me? Did they kill my brother and father too? And if not, why did the latter never look for me? Or, maybe they did but just couldn't find me because I was running all the time…

The first questions bothered me the most. I tried capturing Blacks and torturing them for information about whom they worked for and why they wanted to kill me but it didn't work. The first one I captured dissolved into a black, slimy mass and reformed again a few yards away. The second one disappeared completely and the third burned through the ropes I used to tie it up with. Even when I did have them for more than a few seconds, they wouldn't say anything. Or at least not anything I could comprehend.

Another thing I learned about Blacks was that they came in all shapes and sizes. I had seen cat-Blacks, lion-Blacks, women Blacks, men Blacks, Blacks who spat poison and Blacks with giant fangs. And so on, and so on. The thing they all had in common though, was their eyes. They were either the shining, ruby red or, like their insides, pitch black.

Life on the streets had changed me, it had made me harder. I never really had any friends. I did befriend one girl, roughly a year after I first ran. Her name was Myrna, and she was about my age. She said she was on the run from social services who wanted to put her back in an orphanage with abusive caretakers. After a few days she attacked me in my sleep. I still have the scar from where she stabbed a piece of glass into my ribcage. You might have guessed it already: She was a Black. I discovered that when I used a nail to poke out here eye and black stuff came out with it. That experience taught me a bitter but important lesson: Never. Trust. Anyone. Never trust anyone.

And I never did. I barely ever spoke to anyone. Even stray dogs symbolized a possible encounter with Blacks to me. People tended to avoid me, and I was fine with that. I didn't need anyone anyway. I never did find out anything about what happened to my family. I gave up trying to look for them and they never found me either. Some nights when I lied in some shed or bus stop, I would think of my best friend, from before everything happened. Her name was Isabelle, and she was just perfect in every way I wasn't. Tall and pretty, with long dark hair. She was very nice as well. I always pushed those thought away, knowing that I would never see them again.


	4. Chapter 4 - The first change

So that's the story! Now were back to that one cool afternoon in late October in the Big Apple. I was sixteen, skinny as hell, still covered in scars and still alive and kicking (literally, haha). As I said, I was walking down the street, looking for food. Markets were already gone, so that wasn't an option but I did find a bruised apple. I walked along, taking a big bite out of it, when I heard sounds coming out of a side alley. Fighting sounds. I pressed myself against the wall and looked around the corner. There was a guy there. He was tall, with dark, curling hair. He was wearing all black, leather clothes and heavy black boots. In his hands were two huge, and I mean HUGE, blades. They were kind of weird, not made out of iron or any other metal. What the hell was he planning on doing?! Then, the guy who was standing in front of him moved, too quickly for the ordinary, and my gaze shifted to him. He was standing in a sort of crouch, and a gnarling sound came from him. I knew then that it was a Black. I could so easily identify them these days. The Black said something in his creepy language and my eyes widened when the boy spoke back in the same language! He sounded different though, like he was not speaking in his mother tongue.

I had already grabbed the dagger out of the ragged boots I was wearing, ready to attack. However, before I could do anything the boy had jumped and pierced the Black with his two swords. My jaw dropped to the floor. I never saw another person kill a Black before! It was so weird. What was even weirder was that even though I had killed so many Blacks and I definitely knew they weren't human, it seemed bad when the boy killed it and I had to fight the urge to stop him.

While the Black was going up in flames, the boy laughed a cocky, gloating laugh while watching it. He didn't however see a second Black coming up to him from the other side of the alley. "Damn it! Why are guys so frickin stupid!" I murmured to myself.

The Black was closing up on him. "Behind you, god damn it!" I yelled, as I jumped out, throwing the dagger right into the Black's chest. The guy looked up in surprise. Not shocked for almost getting killed or for getting saved by a girl, but almost pleasantly surprised.

When I looked at his face, I felt fascinated for a moment. There was something about this guy, but I couldn't place my finger on it. "Next time look out instead of gloating". I spat the words at him before picking up my dagger and ran off. I climbed up on a pipe and walked over a few rooftops before climbing down again in the alley that had become my temporary home these past few days.

After only a few minutes I realized that I had to leave New York. They would find me in no-time if I didn't, now that I had killed one of them. I couldn't stop thinking about that boy though. Were there other people fighting these things? I never gave that a lot of thought before. I always thought that I somehow was the only one.

As I was thinking that over, I heard growling. Great. Now I was being as stupid as that boy had been. The Black was right in front of me without me even noticing it. I still had the dagger in my hand, but before I could use it a long, black-pointed thing like a scorpions tail come up from behind the Blacks' back and stabbed me. Blazing hot pain spread through my chest and I grit my teeth together. They got what they wanted after all. After 7 years, they finally killed me.

Suddenly, the Black started screaming and then burning. The boy appeared from behind him, a worried look covering his face. I looked up at him, my eyes wide with surprise. "I never saw one with a tail like that before" I whispered, before passing out.


	5. Chapter 5 - Confusion

It was dark. Everything around me was darkness. Was I having a bad dream? Damn it, why wasn't I waking up? The darkness was very disorienting. Sometimes it felt like I was hanging upside down, while the next moment the darkness was spinning around me. Then, I heard voices coming from outside the darkness. Very distant voices. I strained myself to focus on them, tried to single them out and listen to what they were saying. I heard a male voice first. "Why did you bring her here?" The voice sounded aggravated. "Seriously, you can't just bring mundanes into the Institute! What are you going to tell her when she wakes up? That we're just a random group of people, living in a giant castle-like building together? It will ruin everything, Ty!" My heart skipped a beat at the name. Ty, the same as my brothers'.

Another voice answered the annoyed one. "She is not a mundane, Jace" The boy, whos name apparently was Ty, said. "I did an iratze on her, and she healed. And it wasn't the first Mark she'd ever gotten. Look at her arm." As if he were speaking to me instead off the other boy, my thoughts shifted to my right forearm. Whenever I had asked mom about the scar, she sad I had gotten it in some shady accident involving a hot iron. She never really gave me a clear answer. Maybe she had been lying to me. But what was that stuff the boys were talking about? Marks?

Before I could think any further, a girls voice interrupted the boys' heated discussion. "I think he's right, Jace" The girl said. "She is marked. She must have some Shadowhunter blood". The first boy, Jace apparently, seemed to have cooled down somewhat. "I just don't get it. What is a Shadowhunter doing, living on the street when there's an Institute in the same town?" A silence fell over the group. Apparently no one had an answer to that.

I decided I had done enough hanging around on a bed and with great focus I managed to open my eyes. I was lying in a small bed, located in a giant room filled with dozens of the same beds. The room had a high ceiling and was decorated with intricate marble details. In front of my bed stood a small group of people, all wearing similar black clothes made out of some kind of leather. Within seconds I recognized the boy with the dark curly hair whose life I saved downtown. Instantly, I sat up straight. A burning agony shot through my chest and I grunted in pain. Immediately the whole group turned to face me.

"You should be more careful, it got you pretty bad" The Jace- guy stated matter-of-factly. A flood of rage washed over me and I couldn't tear my eyes away from the curly guy. "Yes, and why was that again?" I said through clenched teeth. "If someone would just watch his back instead of gloating over his own amazing abilities" I went on in a sarcastic tone "Then I wouldn't have had to save his damn life and those freakin' Blacks would not have found me and I would have been lying in bed, on my own right now". At that, Curly snorted "Bed? You mean the cardboard matrass with the newspaper blankets, right? Yeah, sounds real cozy".

I could feel my face turning red with embarrassment and, mostly, more rage, but I refrained myself. "Actually, I have a ragged old blanket" I said, blinking my eyes innocently.

The boy did not seem amused.

"Well, this was real fun but I'm gonna go now" I said, and got up from the bed with more effort than anticipated. I then saw the hospital gown like thing I was wearing. Also, they seemed to have taken my dagger. Assholes.

"Can I have my dagger back, please" I asked while breathing heavily still.

"Yea, about that" Curly said "Where did you get it? Who did you steal that from?"

Rage, again. "WHAT?! It is mine! I didn't steal it from anyone."

Curly then grabbed me painfully hard by the shoulders "Don't fucking lie to me, bitch" His eyes were very dark now, and flaming with anger. I pushed him away.

"That dagger has been in my family for generations. It's the only thing I have left and I. Want. It. Back. NOW" I yelled the last word, unable to control myself any longer.

The boy's face was blank with confusion. "But that's impossible" he stammered. He was silent for a few seconds, and his expression changed. "Unless.. But it couldn't be, could it? Could you? I mean.. Eva?"

"WHAT?!" I screamed. Then, it all clicked. He knew my name. Ty. The dagger. No. no. "NO!" I shouted, and ran. I couldn't get a grip on my thoughts. I ran into an immense hallway, but there was no clear exit. "The fuck is this place?" I whispered.

"Eva, wait" I voice called behind me. Ty.

"NO! Why should I? You left! You and dad left and I was alone with mom and she went crazy" Everything, years of fear, anger and frustration came out at once.

"I was there when mom got killed, and I was the one who was alone at nine years old, the one who was chased by those damn things for SEVEN FUCKING YEARS with not even a clue as for why. I was the one who had to teach myself everything and I was the one who killed all of them off them on my own. And you? Did you have fun with dad in the meantime? Chilling out in some castle? What is this place anyway?"

Ty opened his mouth to say something, but I turned and ran again. Unable to find an exit, I ran into an open room and shut the door. Inside, I collapsed against it, and for the first time in years, I cried.

I didn't know how long I was sitting like that, feeling sorry for myself, but at some point there was a soft knock on the door and a girl's voice. "Eva, open up, okay? It's, I want to tell you something" I don't know why, but I let her in. She was tall and very pretty, with long dark hear. She was covered in lacy black tattoos. Come to think of it, all of them had been.

"Hey. Ehm, do you remember me? From when we were kids?"

I looked at her again. The long dark hair, beautiful skin. She was perfect. Like my best friend had been when I was a kid. "Isabelle?" I whispered. She nodded.


	6. Chapter 6 - Recognition

"But, how?" I started, but she interrupted me. "Before you freak out again, just let me explain, okay? When I said nothing, she continued. "Okay. Remember when we were kids, and our parents would be gone a lot and left Ty and Alec in charge? They always trained us at those times, teaching us how to distinguish Croucher demons from Drevak ones?"

I lifted an eyebrow, indicated that I thought she had lost her mind. She looked at me in confusion, but went on anyway. "Or when your dad was gone for weeks, claiming to have tracked a greater demon?" Again I just stared at her.

"You seriously don't remember any of it?" I shook my head. She took my arm and turned it, so that my forearm was showing. "How did you get this scar?" She asked me. I shrugged "Don't know, really. Mom said I burned myself on a hot iron or something" Isabelle seemed frustrated. "This is so frustrating!" (told you so) She cursed a few times and got to her feet. "I really want to explain everything to you, but you just don't seem to know anything anymore. Please come back to the others with me so we can help you remember? Maybe Magnus can help. He also healed you by the way. Did you really fight off al the demons with only the one dagger?" She looked at me straight and I just nodded. "Impressive. You'll make a hell of a Shadowhunter"

"But I don't even know.." I started, but Isabelle had already pulled me to my feet and dragged me back to the big room.

When we got back to the room, the blonde guy, was leaning against the doorpost. "Jace" Isabelle said. She looked around him, peering into the room. "Where are the others?"

"Ty went to the training rooms. Alec went after him to make sure he wouldn't kill himself. Magnus followed them I think" He turned to look at me. "You alright? Demonpoison can be nasty and it got you near the heart. We were lucky that Magnus was already ehr… hanging out with Alec here when Ty brought you in or we would probably have been too late"

I blinked, trying to grasp everything. "Demons? And who is that Magnus dude you all keep talking about? Couldn't you have brought me to a hospital like normal people do?" Jace stared at me, then looked at Isabelle and then back to me. "But you are Eva right? Eva Blackwell?" I looked at him confused "No, my last name is Blake"

He looked at Isabelle "How do we know that she's not lying? That she didn't just steal the dagger and pretends to be Ty's sister?" He said

"If I wanted to pretend to be his sister, don't you think I would have used her name? Or, my name. Allthough it's not my name. But I am." Damn this whole thing was confusing.

Isabelle stepped in again. "Eva, you remember me, right? Do you remember Jace as well? And when he came to live with us?"

I looked at Jace, at his blond hair and golden eyes. The cocky way he held himself. "I was little when you came, seven years old maybe" I said, hesistantly. "You came to live with them because.." Why? I knew that I knew it, but somehow I couldn't remember. I tried harder, and saw little Jace, about 10 years old, stepping out of a mirror on the back of my eyelids. God, I was going crazy. Mirrors are solid glass, not something you can step in or out. A piercing pain shot through my head as I tried to clear the memory and I collapsed to the ground. "Eva!" Isabelle shouted. As I drifted away into darkness, I heard Isabelle talk to Jace "Let's just get her back on the bed for now, we'll figure everything later. And we should get Magnus back in here as well. I think she has a block. Maybe he can break it"


	7. Chapter 7 - How Ty sees it

I was sitting in a chair next to Eva's bed. It was still hard for me to think of her as my sister. I mean, for the past 7 years I had thought my sister was dead. To think that she wasn't and had been through so much on her own made me sick to my stomach. I was her big brother and I was supposed to protect her, like I always had when we were younger. A part of me had secretly hoped that it wasn't really her. Especially when Isabelle and Jace explained what she had told them. But then Magnus came. He spent hours in the room with her, locking everyone else out. Every once in a while, blue sparks would appear from under the door and Magnus had been cursing from time to time. Eventually he had stepped out of the room, with a mix of worry and annoyance on his face. "She has a block alright" He had said. "A very powerful one. I was not able to break it. I did fix all the scars by the way." He already started to walk away, but I had blocked his path. I had asked him if he knew who put the block there. When he said he didn't know I went crazy and tried to force answers out of him with violence. That had sort of set Alec off, because he pulled me away and punched me in the face. I was lucky he didn't break my nose. When we all cooled down, Magnus told me that the block was placed by another warlock. One who went by the name Horace Lynnott. Magnus had not been able to lift the block because he didn't know what spell was used to put it there and he could possibly turn Eva into a mindless body if he would try anyway. Our best option was to wait for Eva to wake up and see if she could remember anything useful, anything related to Horace Lynott.

Magnus disappeared after that while Jace and Alec went to the library to look for useful information. Isabelle went to town to see if any of her "friends" knew anything about the warlock. So that left me, alone, to wait for Eva to wake up. It probably wouldn't be long. What was I going to say to her when she did? I really hoped she wouldn't freak out again when she saw me, but I doubted it. After a few more boring minutes filled with anticipation passed and then she woke up. "Where am.." She started, but her face changed when she saw me sitting on the chair. "What are you doing here?" She asked, sounding pissed "And where's Isabelle?" I held up my hands to indicate my good intentions. "Just let me explain, okay? Give me 5 minutes and then I'll leave if you still want me to". She crossed her arms over her chest and her jaw was clenched, but she nodded. I hesitated and then started to tell my story.

"Do you remember when dad and I left? Mom and dad had been fighting for months before that because dad developed some radical ideas over the years. He was convinced that we had to create a new world: A world where Shadowhunters ruled, worshipped by all mundanes and feared by all downworlders" Before I could continue, Eva stopped me. "Wait, wait. What are Shadowhunters, what are downworlders, and everyone keeps talking about mundanes but I have no idea what they are!" She said, throwing up her hands in desperation. As she did that, she stared at them in amazement. "What happened to my arms?" She asked, with wide eyes. I mentally slapped myself in the face. Of course she didn't know: The block. Which she also didn't know about.

"Right. I forgot to tell you. Don't freak out okay? Magnus healed your arms: He's a warlock. He also cured you from the demonpoison, by the way. Another warlock put a block in your mind, blocking your memories of who you really are. Of what we really are." I said. I took a deep breath, ignoring her sarcastic looks, and continued. "You're a Shadowhunter, Eva. We all are: Me, Isabelle, Alec, mom and dad-" I lump formed in my throat and I tried to swallow it away.

"Anyways, Shadowhunters are said to be created ages ago by drinking the blood of the angel Raziel from the Mortal Cup." Her face spoke questionmarks so I went on. "We'll do the whole Shadowhunter history 101 later. Right. Shadowhunters are made to hunt demons and protect the mundane world from them. Mundanes are the ordinary humans, without Shadowhunterblood. And you've seen your fair share of demons. What did you call them again? Black? They are all demons, they come from another dimension. There are all sorts of demons and there are different ways to kill them. You see these?" I pointed at the marks on my right arm. She nodded. "They are Marks. Runes. They protect us and make us stronger. Give me your arm" She looked at me suspiciously, but held out her right arm. I turned it over, showing the mark on her forearm. "This is not just some scar. It's a Mark that has lost its power. This specific Mark is a symbol of our family. Look, I have the same one" I showed her my own forearm. In contrary to hers, mine was still black as charcoal. "It's the symbol for fire. Our family has had a strong affinity with fire for ages. Mom put it on you when you turned 8. I don't really know why yours is faded, though. It might have something to do with the block." I wait

ed a few seconds. "Clear so far?" Eva stared at me, here mouth hanging open in amazement. "So… I'm a Shadowhunter, Blacks are demons and people are mundanes" I smiled slightly, and nodded. "Right." She said, sounding lost in thought. "And downworlders, are.. warlocks? Are they like witches or something? With magic and stuff?"

"Downworlders contain all creatures that are part demon: Warlocks, who indeed have magical powers, then there is the Fair folk, the werewolves and vampires." She bursted out laughing "You're kidding, right? Vampires? Werewolves?" When she saw my face, all serious, she stopped laughing. "Not kidding. Okay. So not only am I hunted by demons, on every corner could be creatures of my nightmares as well. Great!"

"It's not as bad as it sounds. We have agreements with the downworlders. We don't hurt them and they don't hurt us." I explained.

She put her face in her hands. "This is soo confusing!" She exclaimed. After a minute or so, she looked at me again.

"Okay. Bring it on. Why did you and dad leave and why can't I remember any of this?" She said. "Start with the dad thing"

I took a deep breath again, and continued my story "Right. Ehm, as I said, dad was turning kind of radical over the years. Mom did not agree with those ideas and tried to convince dad not to do anything with them. Unfortunately, dad had already started. He was recruiting an army, to start a revolution. He was convinced that eventually all Shadowhunters would share his vision. All that wouldn't, should not be worthy of their marks, according to him." I shook my head. "Of course, I didn't know any of this when we left. I just thought he and mom were splitting up." Eva interrupted me then. "But why did he only take you? Why did he leave me behind?" I looked down in shame for my father. "Dad was all about forming an as strong as possible army. You see, it's only been a few decades since female Shadowhunters were allowed to be active hunters. Dad still held on to those old-fashioned ideas. He believed I would be a valued addition to his army, later on, where as you would be.." She finished my sentence "A liability" I nodded. She looked hurt for only a second before putting on a brave face again. "Okay, and what about the thing in my head?" I waited a few seconds before I began to speak. "After you blacked out in the hallway, Magnus tried to break the block. He couldn't do it, but he did find out that it was put there by a warlock called Horace Lynnott. We think your mother- I mean, mom, we think she paid him to put it there, to protect you. You see, the reason dad left her was that she tried to sabotage his plans. She convinced people he initially recruited for his side, to stand against him. Of course, he could not accept that. We think that mom was afraid dad would try to hurt her and with that, hurt you in the process. And he did." I looked down, but she understood. "You mean that dad.."

"Yes" I said "Dad was the one who sent the demons after you and mom."


	8. Chapter 8 - Memories

"Okay". I said. What else could I say? My dad killed my mom and apparently wanted to kill me too. Great. Just fucking amazing. I swallowed back the lump in my throat, and sat on the edge of the bed. "So what now? Are you going to teach me Shadowhunterstuff now?" He hesistated. "No, actually. Alec and my got called in by the Clave. There were some problems involving a few Raveners. They want us to clean it up" He looked at me with concern. "Are you okay? I mean I could like, say they had to find someone else or.. or something". Well, that sucked. But I held it together. "No it's fine. Where's the library? Maybe I can read about Shadowhunter history". He nodded. "That's a good idea. Actually, Jace is supposed to be here in a little. Maybe he can help you, you know. He does know a lot about that stuff". I shrugged "Sure. Why not" I said, and got up from the bed. I was now standing in front of my brother. It just felt so weird. For years I had told myself to hate him for leaving me. Now that I knew he was forced to go by my father, I didn't know how to feel. Before I had any more time to think, Ty got up from his chair and pulled me against him in a tight hug. My body stiffened immediately. I had barely had any physical contact with somebody since I was nine years old. But Ty kept on holding me until I eventually wrapped my arms around him. His chin rested on my head and he smelled like, well I couldn't quite place it but it was familiar.

He pulled away, his hands resting on my shoulders. "I love ya, little sis" he said, with a crooked smile "I'll see you tonight, okay?"

I didn't say anything, and at that moment Jace stepped into the room. "Hey, you ready to go? Ty, Alec is waiting for you downstairs, weapons and all packed"

Ty nodded, gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and walked out of the room, leaving me and Jace alone in the room. We stood there a awkwardly for a little until he spoke. "Sooo.. Shall I give you a tour through through the wonderful Shadowhunters Institute of New York?" I couldn't help but smile from his exaggerated jovial tone. "Sure" I said.

"What is this place anyway?" I asked him as we walked out of the infirmary, into the giant hallway. "As I said, we're at the shadowhunter Institute of New York. It's sort of a home away from home slash sanctuary slash safe house for Shadowhunters. They can come and stay here whenever they want. See all these doors? They're all guestrooms. Right now most of them are empty, though" He said.

"Why?"

"Most Shadowhunters are in Idris now, for the renewal of the accords" He looked at me then, and saw my face which was, once again, set at confusion. "Right" He said "It's just so weird with you not knowing any of this. I mean, I can still remember the look on your face when you saw Idris for the first time. You absolutely loved it. I'm sure you will as well the next time you see it".

"What's Idris?" I asked. "It's our homeland." He answered "Us Shadowhunters, I mean. It's a small country between Germany and France. Mundanes don't know about it, and when they reach it's borders they sort of get transported into the next country without knowing it." He continued "It's beautiful, green mountains, the clearest of all rivers. There's only one city: Alicante. That's where the Accords and all other important stuff happens" He then led me into a big, circular room. "This is the library"

I looked around. The round room was beautiful, with high walls that were covered in books from floor to ceiling. As I looked at books with titles in some ancient language, like Latin or something, I talked to Jace. "Did I go there a lot? That country, I mean?" I asked

"Idris? A couple of times. Three, maybe four."

I paused for a few seconds "Do you know about my dad?" He looked at me with kind of a sad smile. "Yeah. Remember when I came to live with the Lightwoods? When I stepped through the Portal, I came straight here from Idris. The reason I came here was because my dad was killed. Back then, they thought it was demons that killed him. A few years later though, we found out it was your dad. He had wanted to recruit my father for his plan to take over the world. When my dad tried to tell others, your dad had the demons kill him."

His words took my breath away from me and I turned myself further away from him. "Right. My dad is a murderous narcissistic freak. Almost forgot about that" I murmured.

"I didn't mean to hurt your fee-" He started to apologize, but I interrupted him. "You didn't" I said. "I've hated him for no other reason than his leaving us for the past seven years. Now at least I have a GOOD reason to hate him". I shrugged. "So what's the plan now? Read?"

He shrugged and nodded at the same time "Well actually, I wanted you to look at something. It might help you remember stuff" He said. "Go sit at the table over there. I just have to grab something".

I had only been sitting at the table for maybe half a minute, when Jace reappeared from a high set of stairs. As he walked down them, I observed him. He moved in a very gracious way, carrying himself with confidence. He was quite tall, with a slender but muscular frame. Lost in my observations, I was still staring at him when he was in front of the table. "Like what you see?" He said, while his eyes and mouth formed a playful but cocky smile. I quickly averted my gaze to the big, leather-bound book he was carrying under his arm. "What's that?" I asked him, pointing at it. My cheeks were still blazing red.

He laid the heavy book down on the table in front of me. "This" He said, tapping it's cover "Is the Book of Gramarye. It's the Shadowhunters sacred book, sort off. It holds all the runes we know." He then turned a few ancient looking pages and faced me. "Okay. I want you to look at this very closely. Try to open up your mind and just, really SEE it. Give it a try" He said, giving me an encouraging nod. I looked at the page in front of me. At first, it just was an intricate whole of lines to me. But after a while, something seemed to click in my head and the image changed. The whole room changed, actually. Instead of the Institute's library, I was now standing in a much smaller room. I recognized it immediately: It was our home. Mom dad, Ty and me I mean. Ty, a much younger version than the one I met yesterday, was standing in front of me while my mom was arguing with someone very violently. With a shock I recognized my dad. "If you're not with me, Jenna, you're against me" He shouted. "Ty! Come here!" But Ty stayed in front of me, protecting me. I grasped in horror when dad drew a dagger from his belt and threw it at Ty. He grunted in pain, and sank to the ground. Dad picked up his body and left the house.

I screamed and the room changed again. Bewildered, I looked around me. Appearently I had fallen from the chair and was on my knees on the ground. I felt Jace's body against my back and he pushed hair away from my sweaty face. He forced me to look at him "What did you see" When I didn't answer, he held me more firmly "Eva, you have to tell me what you saw. You're safe now. Just tell me" I took a shaky breath, but couldn't find my real voice. Instead, I heard a soft whisper coming out of my mouth "He killed him. He just killed him."


	9. Chapter 9 - Discovering

"Who, Eva, who did you see?" Jace urged. "Ty. My dad killed Ty." I said. I was still shaking, but my voice sounded more like my own again. "You know that's not true" Jace said, a bitter tone clouding his voice.

"I saw it anyway." I said, my voice just as bitter as his. "I saw my dad take the damn dagger and then firing it into Ty's chest. An then he took his body."

"Where" Jace asked. I looked at him as if he were crazy. "How the hell am I supposed to know where he took him?"

Jace shook his head. "No, I mean where did the dagger hit him. If it were in his right side, he probably just passed out from a punctured lung. Anyway, I know it didn't kill him: I saw him only a few months later, alive and well. Your dad took him to New York to get more Shadowhunters on his side. The Lightwoods and I already moved here a few months before that, remember?" He said. I thought about it and nodded. "Well" he continued "Ty felt something was wrong about your dad. A few weeks after they got to the city, Jace overheard him say that he had you and your mom killed. He left the first chance he got and came here"

"Wait" I said "Ty told me that he didn't know about my dad's plans until a few years ago."

Jace shrugged. "Maybe he wanted to protect you from the truth"

I looked at him "I don't need protection." I turned back to the book. "How did I see all that anyway?" Jace pointed at the rune I had been looking at before "This is the rune that allows you to see the meaning of runes. It's also a rune for memories."

I stared at the rune again, trying to open my mind to its power. The room around me changed again, but fortunately I was prepared for it this time.

I was standing in a dark run-down room. Wallpaper was peeling of off the walls and the floorboards were covered with a thick layer of dust. Though my eyes were still adjusting to the darkness, I could see my mother standing in the room, talking to someone. In front of her stood a small man. The strange thing was, he seemed to have a tail. A demon? He didn't look like a demon… I tried to focus on what mom was saying. "You have to do it, Horace. I need to keep her safe from him" She sounded almost desperate. Where did I hear that name again?

"Please, Horace. She must forget. I'll do anything you want me to." Mom begged again. Right. The guy who stole my memories. I couldn't hear the next part of their conversation, but Horace nodded and turned himself for me. I startled and looked for somewhere to hide, when I saw a younger version of myself in front of me. The warlock placed his hands on both sides of the face of the girl, or me, or whatever and closed his eyes while slowly speaking in a language I couldn't comprehend. After what was probably minutes, but felt like hours, he slowly opened his eyes, turned, and nodded at my mom. Mini-me dropped to the ground, unconscious. Before anyone could do anything, a bright light filled the room and Horace fell to the ground in what looked like agony, blood pouring from his chest.

The room changed back again. This time I was still in the chair, with my head on the table. My nails had pierced the skin of the inside of my hand. However, all I could feel was the warmth of Jace's arm around my shoulder. His hands softly pulled me back with my back against the chair. "Horace Lynott is dead" I told him. Dread filled me on the inside. "He was killed right after he put the block on me. I'm never going to get my memories back."

Jace seemed taken aback at first, but then shook his head. He bended over me and closed the book. "We'll find a way" He said. "But I think we've done enough for one night. You look exhausted"

I thought about it. "I am" I answered him. "But I don't want to go to sleep yet. I feel like I have slept for weeks these past two days"

He nodded in understanding "We haven't finished your tour either. I could show you the weaponry?" I almost jumped with excitement. "Yes! That would be great!" He smiled and led me out of the room. As we walked up some stairs, he told me more about life as a Shadowhunter: Their customs, different ways to kill demons and he tried to put the beauty of Idris in words. Inside the weaponry, I was like a little kid inside a candyshop. There were weapons I didn't even know existed, a lot of them made out of adamas, the material only shadowhunters knew existed. Then, I saw something familiar. "This looks exactly like my dagger" I said. Jace stood next to me "You're right. That's because they're Kindjals: This one and yours form a pair. Ty had this one on him the night he came here after getting away from your dad. It belonged to him, your father I mean. Just like yours was your mother's. That's why Ty recognized it immediately the first time he saw it on you."

Knowing that the dagger used to belong to my father, I stepped away from it.

"Come on" Jace said. "I want to show you something." He pulled my into a more narrow part of the room. It was so small that we had to stand close together in order to fit. Jace picked up a long blade. I recognized the material as the adamis stuff he described to me. "This is a seraph blade. It's name is Castiel." He called the sword by its name again, and it blazed up with light. I could feel the warmth of it on my face, or was the warmth coming from Jace? We really were standing close together. I looked up from the blade to his face. We were so close that our noses almost touched. His hand came up and caressed my cheek. Then, I don't know how it happened, his lips were on mine.


	10. Chapter 10 - The day after

I pulled away. I stared at Jace, wide-eyed. My heart seemed to be beating its way out of my chest. Jace's face turned worried. I got up and ran out of the weaponry. I ran down the stairs that led to the first floor and into the room that Jace had pointed out as mine. The door closed behind me with a bang.

Why did I feel so anxious? I mean, girls kissed boys all the time. That's normal. Except for the tiny little fact that I didn't. I mean, for the past seven years I had barely even talked to any boys (or girls for that mattered), let alone kiss them. But my inexperience on the boy-kissing front was not the main reason for my freaking out. More so, it was what I felt underneath that kiss. Even before that happened. Being around Jace made me feel…. Things. And I wasn't sure if I liked them. I remembered always looking up to him when we were little. He was smart, funny and very good at sports. But never in this way, never in a romantic kind of way. And it wasn't like he could really like me anyway. My dad killed his dad. That must be a killer for any kind of love affair, right?

Jace hadn't come after me and that made me feel both sad and happy at the same time.

The next morning it took me about 15 minutes to find the Institute's kitchen. I dreaded seeing Jace, but I knew I couldn't stay in the room forever so I decided to pull the band aid of quickly. Once in the kitchen, I avoided Jace's gaze. Jace seemed to have the same idea. As soon as I saw Ty on the other end of the kitchen, I pulled him away by his arm. "We need to talk" I said, pulling him to the hallway. "What's up with you and Ty?" He asked. I grimaced. "Shut up." I told him. "You knew about dad way before he left. Don't try to deny it, I know you did." I waited a few moments before continuing "I mean, he stabbed you for Gods sake. What happened after he took you?"

"How do you know about that?" He demanded. "Nobody-" I cut him off. "Doesn't matter how I know. I do know. Tell me what happened. What REALLY happened." He started to sputter again, but I gave him a death stare "I don't need protection, brother" The word came out as if it were a curse word. "I need the truth. So speak up". He started to speak then.

"I was unconscious when dad took me. He used a few iratzes and I was as good as new. When I woke up, dad was sitting next to my bed and he was telling me how nearly killing me was all for a greater good. When I was fully back on my feet, I started spying on dad whilst pretending I was on his side. He did bad things, Eva. I saw him call on demons, and he found ways to control them. He would torture Shadowhunters who refused to stand by him, or threaten to kill their families. And then one night, I was eavesdropping on him while he was in the library, I heard him talking to a demon. A demon!" His face filled up with pain, but he continued to talk. "I heard the demon tell him that they had successfully taken care of you and mom. That's when I couldn't do it anymore. I could not pretend to be okay with all of it any longer. I overheard dad saying that the Lightwoods were now running the NYC Institute. He did not manage to convert them to his side. I packed up whatever I could manage and went there. I've been here ever since." He smiled at me, a wry smile that didn't really touched his eyes. "When dad found out I was gone of course, he was furious. He tried to take down the Institute at some point. Fortunately, we were prepared. We made a pact with the Downwolders and of course he didn't see that one coming. In the middle of the battlefield, I was suddenly right in front of him. I wanted to kill him, for what he had done to you and mom, for what he did to all of us. I really did want to. But I just couldn't. He laughed at me, called me a sad excuse for a Shadowhunter. And then he just disappeared." Ty shrugged. "The battle was suddenly over. When he disappeared, the remaining demons disappeared as well. That was a few years ago and we didn't really hear anything from or about him since then" He looked at me "That is, of course, not until I found out you were still alive and followed by his demons." I nodded. My mind wandered back to what was only a few days ago, but felt like weeks or months. I had learned so much in those few days. It had completely turned my life around. In a good way, I thought. Then I remembered what I discovered last night. I had completely forgotten about it because of what had happened afterwards.

"Horace Lynott is dead" I said to Ty. His eyes squinted, but he didn't appear to be very much shocked by the words. "I figured as much. Dad would have never let him live after he helped mom." I was taken aback by that. Regardless of all the horrible things I had heard about him, in my memories, my dad loved our family. 'No' I told myself. I had to stop thinking about him in that way. Maybe those memories weren't even real.

"We'll figure it out. You'll get your memories back one way or another. In the meantime, would you like me to teach you some real Shadowhunters fighting techniques?"

I jumped up and down. "Yes! Can you teach me the jumpyslide thing you did? And are you going to give me Marks too?" Ty hesitated before he answered "Let's just do some basic training for now, okay? You don't need marks anyway: There's no danger here in the Institute" My shoulders dropped in disappointment, but I didn't complain. "If you really want to learn to jump properly though, you should ask Jace to train you. He's way better at those things than I am." Ty said. I turned to face him quickly. "Basic fighting is fine. Let's go!" Ty lifted an eyebrow and looked at me for a while, but then nodded and led me downstairs to the training rooms.


	11. Chapter 11 - Training

Even though Ty had been kind of a softy as my brother, as a trainer he was nothing but a tough Shadowhunter. Before I knew Shadowhunters existed, I had thought I was a pretty damn good fighter. And I probably was, compared to normal people. I mean, ahem, mundanes. But seeing Ty practically fly through the room at "mundanely" impossible speed blocking every one of my blows and eventually pinning me to the ground in a stranglehold, I felt incredibly inexperienced and clumsy. He kept me at it for hours before suddenly announcing that we were done for the day. We ate at the big dinner table in the kitchen together with the others. Isabelle, Ty and me were talking about my first day in training, while Jace and Alec were furiously whispering on the other side of the table. The rest of their family was chatting casually. To prevent having to talk to Jace, I went to my room straight after dinner and didn't come out until Ty came to my door to ask me if I wanted him to train me again the next morning.

We had only been at it for an hour or two when Ty said he had to go and get something, and told me to wait. I slumped against the boxing cushions that were stacked against the wall.

After maybe 10 or 15 minutes, I heard the cracking sound of the door opening and I turned to greet Ty again. Only, the figure in the doorway had sleek blond hair instead of my brother's dark, curly do. "What are you doing here" I said. Okay, it might have come out a bit more snappy than was completely necessary, but I was pissed off at Ty who was clearly setting me up.

"Chill" Jace said. "Ty told me you wanted to learn some jumps, so here I am."

I didn't respond to that, and Jace continued talking.

"Look." All warmth had disappeared from his voice. "You were clear enough last night. I know it's not because of my kissing, because girls seem to think I'm pretty awesome at that, but you are obviously not interested. You don't have to be such a bitch about it." He shrugged while turning away from me to grab a high plateau- thing from behind him. "Besides" He continued "It's not like it was any more than having a bit of fun either." After that, his expression turned softer again. "Anyway, I'm the best you can get when it gets to jumps. So if you want to learn properly, you'll have to put up with me for a few hours a day."

I had a real hard time recomposing myself after that little speech, but I did. I just nodded. It was just a bit of fun. Nothing more. Definitely not something that involved feelings or, even worse, being in love. Damn it, I was turning in to some sad little schoolgirl who was feeling sorry for herself! Well, no more of it. And I really did try to keep all my focus on the moves Jace was teaching me. But somehow I kept on getting distracted. He moved very gracefully, leaping from one end of the room to the other without having to jump more than once. Through the white shirt he was wearing, a big change from the Shadowhuntergear I had seem him in the days before, I could see the swirling black Marks on his back and arms. They were beautiful. I could only hope that they would let me have them too very soon.

Appearently I had been staring at the runes for too long, because Jace's voice snapped me back to reality. "Are you going to jump or what? What were you staring at anyway? My banging body?" I could feel my face turn red, so I quickly leaped myself off of the narrow beam I was standing on, 6 feet above the ground. I did two flips and landed perfectly.

"Your Marks, actually. I was looking at your Marks. I wish I had some"

He seemed to think about that, because we were silent for about a minute before he answered me. "Maybe you're right. You are learning to be a Shadowhunter. Runes are a big part of that. And you did get your first one about a decade ago, so it's not like you won't be able to handle it. He thought again.

"Give me your arm."

A tickling of excitement went through me, and I held out my right arm without hesitation. On my wrist was still the old faded Mark that resembled the fire my family so admired. Only something had changed. I could see it now; see the meaning of the rune. Now that I could see, it was hard to believe that there ever was a time when I couldn't.

Jace then pulled something from the black belt he was wearing. "What's that?" I asked. I recognized the adamis material, but it wasn't shaped like the blades I had seen in the weapon room.

"It's a stele. It's what we use to Mark ourself. You'll get your own soon enough" He looked at me. "Now, stay still. It may burn a bit but that's part of the process" He warned me, before pressing the stele to my arm. It lit up and then it indeed did started burning. I gritted my teeth together, determined not to let it show. It was over sooner than I expected it to. I looked at the dark rune that was now decorating the skin above the old Mark. "Agility" I said, knowing the meaning of the rune immediately.

"Yes" Jace said. "It will help you process everything you learn faster. It'll help you in your training". I kept on admiring the Mark. It made me feel like a real Shadowhunter and I loved it.

"Thanks" I said to Jace, smiling brightly. Maybe, I thought, Jace and I could just be friends. If only I could shut off the nagging feeling deep inside of me….


	12. Chapter 12 - Going out

A few more days passed by like that: Training, learning about everything related to Shadowhunters. I tried looking at the first rune in the book again, but nothing happened. No more new memories. That annoyed me. I wanted to know who exactly I was, who I really was. And as much as I loved learning everything about Shadowhunters, I couldn't help but wonder how it would have been if I could still remember everything I once knew.

Add to that the fact that they wouldn't let me out of the Institue ("It's not safe for you to be out there!") and a whole bunch of build up frustration is what you get.

When I had been at the Institute for 2 weeks, I had had enough. Staying inside all the time was driving me crazy, especially when everyone else did go out all the time, going on demon-hunting quests and all. To me, it just felt ridiculous because I had survived outside on my own for almost half my life.

That was why when everyone was out that day, except for little Max who was reading in his room, I left as well. I felt better with every step I took on the street. It felt great to be outside again. It was nice as well to be alone for once. Don't get me wrong, I loved my brother and the others but there was ALWAYS someone watching me, always someone who wanted to talk to me. I walked a few blocks until I saw a little park in the middle of a few tall buildings. I sat down on a bench and just breathed in the, somewhat polluted, air of the outdoors. I looked around me with a smile on my face. The leafs on the trees were a beautiful mix of yellows and reds and barely any clouds were clouding the sky. Just as I started to relax, I heard something. A barely audible sound, but it was wrong, I could feel it. A shiver went down my spine as I turned around. I had been right: It was wrong. In front of me, at only a few feet distance, was a demon. I tried to remember what kind of demon it was. Raum? Iblis? It wasn't like any demon I had killed before, I knew that. I shook my head, trying to clear it, and reached into the shiny boots Isabelle had given me for my dagger. "Fuck" I hissed through my teeth. I didn't have it. Immediately I remembered I had left it on the kitchen table before sneaking out of the Institute.

As I was thinking about that, the demon had grabbed a hold on my arm, filthy nails digging into my arm. I leaped, jumping over the demon and freeing myself in the process. I almost thought I could actually pull this thing off even without weapons, when something hit me in the head and knocked me unconscious.

When I woke up, I felt dizzy and sick to my stomach. I tried to hold my head in my hands, but I couldn't move them. It was only then that I opened my eyes and realized I wasn't in the park anymore. Though there were no visible wires or cables holding me in place against a wall, I couldn't move. Even lifting a finger asked for an incredible amount of energy. I decided it wasn't worth the waste of energy, and observed my surroundings instead. I tried to remain calm and breath slowly, but I could feel panic crawling over me as I looked around the dark room. In the little light that was produced by torches hanging from the walls, I could see that there was a very irregular ceiling dark liquids were staining the empty stone floor. I tried not to think of what those stains probably were. All kinds of weapons, lethal looking, were hanging from the walls.

I swallowed hard, and thought back of what had happened. I couldn't understand why I was still alive. For years, demons had been tracking me and trying to kill me. Or, did they? Maybe they weren't supposed to kill me, but just catch me. But still, why would they want to do that? Why me?

Then, the flames of the torches flickered and a shadow appeared on the wall, followed by a shape. A human shape. It was too dark to see any details, but judging from the tall and broad frame it was probably a man. He took a few more steps forward, until he was standing in the dim, flaming light. The shape became clearer and clearer, until I could see his face.


	13. Chapter 13 - Daddy issues

Oh god no. Though I hadn't seen that face in years, I only needed seconds to recognize it.

"Hey, little princess" He said. I winced when he used the nickname he gave me when I was 2, but I held my head up high and looked him in the eye when I answered him. "Hi daddy." He didn't look away and continued talking, holding my gaze with his eyes. "It's been so long, princess. I've wanted to see you for so long." It was all I could do not to avert my gaze. "You could have not left, not kill mom, and not send demons after me to kill me. That would have helped." My voice was still steady, but inside panic and anger were building.

"But honey, I only send the demons to get you to me, not to kill you. I would never do that."

He was crazy. Absolutely one hundred percent insane. I swallowed back sickness that was bubbling up my throat. "And mom? You didn't kill her either?" he broke our eye contact and looked to the other side of the room. "I didn't have a choice. She was tuning you against me. She was completely paranoid."

Did he actually think he did me a favor by killing my mother?! I forced myself to keep on talking. I told myself that as long as we continued talking, he had no opportunity to do anything else to me. "Then why didn't you take me with you, when you took Ty. When you left? If I meant that much to you, you would have taken me, too."

He nodded, slowly. "It was too big a risk. It could have ruined everything, the whole plan. I would come back for you, to reunite our family and rise to the top of the world. But Ty destroyed that vision. He didn't understand, not like I knew you would understand. Ty was always the soft one, like your mother. But you, you have always been like me. Ambitious, strong. A true fighter.

It took all the self-control I had not to start yelling, to tell him how wrong he was. "I know, daddy" I said instead. "I always wanted to be by your side. The whole demon-killing thing was a misunderstanding, I'm sorry" God, I hated kissing ass. "Won't you share your plan with me dad?" I asked with the sweetest smile I could manage.

He, I couldn't bear to call him my father inside my head, looked doubtful for a moment before he nodded again. "Shadowhunters will be at their rightful place. No more hiding, Eva! Mundanes will admire us, thank us for protecting them. Downworlders will know their place: In the dark, where they belong. Demons will fear us. They will serve us or die. And we, my child, we will be on top."

"How? And what about all the people you hurt, all the Shadowhunters you killed? And what about Ty? Will you kill him too is he won't do as you say? And the Lightwoods? Isabelle, Alec?" Oh god, I was blowing all the trust I had been building so far. But now that I had started, I couldn't stop. "Did you know that it was a warlock, a DOWNWORLDER, who saved my life after your demons almost killed me?"

He looked disgusted. "I would rather see you dead than as a Downworlder's friend."

I looked him dead in the face "Then I guess you'll have to kill me."

He screamed and threw something he was holding through the room, against the opposite wall. A shimmering circle appeared where the object hit it. I stared at it, my head spinning with the fearful anticipation. Everything was still for maybe 30 seconds, and then someone, no something, seemed to be climbing _out of_ the circle. I was stunned at first, but then remembered what Ty had taught me the week ago about portals. I remembered again Jace's arrival through the portal at the Institute, many years ago. But I had never heard of a, portable portal!

The thing, I could see now that it was a demon from the red eyes. My –ugh- dad told the demon something in the demonic language I still couldn't understand and it went through the rooms door.

"Princess" Dad spoke to me again. "Being around Ty has influenced you, I see that now. But I need your help" His voice was soft, pretending to care about me. "You have to tell me. Tell me what happened when the angel visited you." I couldn't help myself: I laughed. It was all so utterly ridiculous already, and now ANGELS? "I don't know what you mean. Angels don't exist, _daddy_" I spat the last word. My fathers face changed, his eyes looked animalistic and his lips curled away from his teeth. I saw something reflect the light of the torched, and suddenly a knife was at my throat and my father screamed, his face almost touching mine. "DON'T LIE TO ME! I _SAW_ IT. Everything! I know everything. I know he made you his weapon and YOU ARE GOING TO TELL ME HOW!"

My breathing accelerated as the sharp knife sliced into my skin. "I swear, I don't know" I said breathlessly. "You killed the warlock who made me forget, remember"

The knife fell to the ground. "No. It was him. GOD DAMN ANGEL!" He yelled in frustration, a roaring, beastly sound. He then shouted something in the scary, demonic language and two giant demons stormed into the room, leaping to me. Closing in the distance so fast.

For a second, I thought I saw a flash of pale gold. I was probably imagining things I wanted to see in my final living seconds. The demons attacked me, and this time I was helpless, still bound against the wall. It felt as if they were avenging all of the other demons I had killed in the past, stabbing me with claws, burning me, poison stinging my skin everywhere and blurring my vision. Somewhere, while I was trying to hold on to my consciousness, I heard screams. Violent noises. I tried to focus on that instead of the pain. It seemed to help, because suddenly the pain stopped.

"Eva" That was it. I was dead and had gone to heaven. And in heaven you heard what you wanted to hear. But heaven was supposed to be peaceful and pain free. Even though the pain had stopped coming, I was still in agony.

"Eva, hold on, okay. Hold on." An amazing feeling of relief rushed over me, and I could feel tears of happiness on my face. I didn't care anymore. Jace was here, Jace saved me. I could feel him lifting me before the pain took over and knocked me out.

Note from Gibbyuke: This chapter and chapter 12 were very difficult for me to write! They took me all day, actually. I wasn't really sure which direction I wanted to take the story. Hope it's not disappointing anyone! Oh and since I'm noting, haha: Thanks for reading my story! I've never written a fanfiction about a book before, so I hope I'm doing okay Love, Gibby


	14. Chapter 14 - How Jace saw it

Isabelle, Alec, Ty and me had just finished off with a few Raum demons and we were heading back to the Institute. I thought about Eva, who was still at the Institute. I had been thinkin about her a lot, too much actually. It was useless, I knew that. She didn't want me, not like that anyways. I thought of how angry she had looked when we left her at the Institute once again this morning. She was probably bored out of her mind, and I could see why. But it was just too dangerous to take her with us. Not only did she lack the proper training, but she was most likely on top of every demon's hitlist.

The Institute came in sight, its high towers proudly protruding the thick layer of clouds that were hanging in the sky. As the doors opened and we entered, Ty called his sister. "Eva! We're back!" I laughed inside. Even if Eva would have been interested, her brother would have killed me before we would have acted on it. He was very protective over her.

When there was no answer, Isabelle called for her brother. "Max! Get down here!" Soon enough, the kid's dark head of hair peaked around the stairwell.

"Where's Eva?" Ty asked, annoyed.

"Why should I know that" The boy answered. "I'm not a babysitter. Not until you pay me anyway."

"Damnit, Max." Isabelle said, and turned to me and Ty. "I'll check her room. Jace – library. Alec – kitchen. Ty: You check the roof. If she's not here we'll go looking for her."

The library was, as I expected, was completely empty. The old Gray book lay on the table, accompanied by an empty mug. I returned to the hall, where Alec was waiting already. "She's not in the kitchen either. I did find this though" He held up a knife with an intricately decorated handle made out of dark red wood that I recognized straight away. I cursed. For her to be out there was one thing, but now she was probably unarmed too. How could she be that stupid?

At that moment, Ty reappeared, his hands clasped into fists. "She's gone out" I told him. "And Alec found her kindjal. When Isabelle gets back here, we will go and find her"

He didn't answer and looked at the stairs while impatiently cracking his knuckles. As soon as Isabelle skipped down the stairs, he was out the door. We filled her in quickly and followed him. Ty was already at the end of the driveway, opening the gate. I sprinted to him. "We're in New York, Ty. How are we ever going to find her?" I asked him. He didn't stop walking, but answered me. "We'll go to the place she stayed before I found her. Even if she's not there anymore we might find something helpful." I doubted it, but since I didn't have a better idea I followed him none the less. While we were walking, I checked my pocket for my Sensor. I was relieved to find it and pulled it out. Straight away, its little lights started glowing like crazy. "Ty wait up!" I yelled at him since he was a few yards ahead of me again already. "The sensor is picking something up. It's pretty strong, too." Ty turned around and shook his head. "We're not hunting Jace. We're looking for my damn sister." Now it was my turn to grow impatient. "I know. What if she's the reason I'm getting demonvibes? They might have found here first. We have to check." Ty did not look pleased, but agreed and looked at my sensor. I looked around us, as Alec and Isabelle caught up with us. We were on a narrow street, in front of a small alley. Looking through the alley I could see a tiny green park, surrounded by all the tall buildings. It looked very peaceful and I walked towards it. As I reached the park, my Sensor was out of control. I waved for the others to come to me. Isabelle and Ty came to me and looked at the Sensor, but Alec stopped a few feet away. "Ty." He said. The tone of his voice alarmed me and we all looked his way. He was crouching, looking at something on the ground. "It's blood" He said. "Human." Ty looked away, as if he could deny what we were all thinking. "She was wearing a sweater this morning right?" Alec asked. I nodded "A red one. Why?" He held up a piece of shredded red fabric.

"I don't see a body" The thought almost made me sick, even though I had seen my fair share of deads. "They must have taken her. We'll track them with the sensor." I said, but Isabelle shook her head. "We don't have enough weapons. If we go now, we'll all get killed." I had to agree with her even though I would have gone to find her straight away if it was my choice only.

We rushed back to the Institute, ignored Max who begged us to take him with us, took all weapons we could take and went back the same way we came. In less than 15 minutes we were walking east, out of the city it seemed. We walked for hours, and the signal on the Sensor intensified. Then, suddenly, Isabelle shouted. "Wait! I think we're here!" She was holding her necklace, the one with the big ruby stone on it. I looked around, but couldn't see anything other than rocky open space and some trees. "You sure?" I asked. "Doesn't look like there's a lot out here." Ty, however, was looking at something on the ground. "She's right" He said. "There is something here. But it's hidden, underground." He paused, kneeling to the ground. "Hand me your stele, will you?" I did as he told me, and he started drawing a rune on the ground. Opening.

I expected for nothing to happen, but the rocky ground started to shake and an opening, big enough for a person to fit through, appeared on the ground. Without hesitation, Ty pulled a blade from his belt and lowered himself into the hatch. We all followed.

"I know this place." Ty whispered once we were inside, under the ground. Though there was barely any light, I could see his face getting pale. "It's my dad. He took me here once, the day after we got to New York." Nobody answered to that, and I pulled a seraph blade from my belt "Gabriel" I whispered, and the blade lit up. Isabelle had her shimmering whip in her hand and Alec was holding two long swords. It was as if the demons could feel our presence, because they appeared not a minute after we entered through the hatch. There were a lot of them. I had to kill five before I could even take three steps forward. "Go Jace! Get her!" Ty yelled at me. He himself was fighting three demons at the same time, slicing off one of their heads as he yelled at me. Black demonblood covered the floor. Before I ran into a narrow opening on the other side of the room, I saw Alec and Isabelle kill two demons together, while laughing like it was a game.

I couldn't see the fun in it like I normally would. All I could think of was Eva. Was she even alive?

I heard someone shouting on the other side of the hall. It was in the demonic language, but I could understand it. "Kill her" Was what the man had said. Immediately I ran, sprinting into the room. From the corner of my eye, I could see a large dark figure disappearing around a corner. However, after I looked around the room I couldn't be bothered by that figure. All that mattered was Eva. Against one of the irregular walls. But the was barely recognizable through the blood that was flowing out of cuts and wounds that covered her. They were killing her, no, severing her. Rage took over. I threw the Gabriel into the demon that was readying its claw, readying it to strike out at Eva. It broke out in flames, leaving the blade to fall to the ground with a chime. I took out a second blade ('Nathanial') and sliced the second and third demon in half. Before I killed the fourth demon, it spoke to me in a rasping, unhuman voice "Muoste rish Fertigo tir" It said. Then I sliced off its head and it disappeared. I flung myself to Eva's side. She was barely conscious, but somehow she was still standing against the wall. "Eva" I said. She didn't respond, but let out an agonizing groan. I then noticed the way she was standing: Tensed up but slumped at the same time. She was bound to the wall. "Eva, hold on, okay. Hold on. I'm gonna get you out of here" I drew a rune to release the bindings, and she collapsed. I quickly caught her, and lifted her into my arms. I listened carefully. I could hear her breathing, the sound of it calmed my worries a little. Then I focused on sounds around us. The fighting seemed to have stopped. "TY!" I yelled. He appeared almost right away in the opening. "She needs an iratze. Take my stele." I cursed when I saw some of the wounds. Demonpoison. "We have to get her out of here. Is everyone okay?" Ty nodded. "Alec is fixing up Isabelle right now, but she'll be all right. Let's go"

Ty offered to carry her, but I ignored him. I wasn't going to let her go. Alec and Isabelle shot worried glances to Eva, who was laying unconsciously in my arms. Neither of them commented or asked questions. "Magnus has a cottage on the east side of the forrest. I'll tell him to meet us there" I just nodded, my thoughts not leaving Eva. Alec walked in front of us, animatedly talking on his cellphone.

The cottage he mentioned was only about 45 minutes away from the underground hidingplace. That was a good thing, because I didn't think Eva would have lasted a lot longer without help. Magnus was already there when we arrived, setting up all kinds of jars with unknown substances inside. I placed Eva on the bed that was placed on the left side of the single space of the cottage. Without saying anything, Magnus pushed us out and shut the door. Blue sparks appeared under the door and thick smoke came out of the chimney. Alec patted me on the shoulder as I sat down against a tree, filled with anticipation.


	15. Chapter 15 - Memories

We had been waiting outside the cottage for at least 2 hours, maybe even three. I was still slumped against the tree, bored out of my mind and restless. A few minutes ago I had started to throw little stones at a bigger rock a few feet away from me, but Isabelle threw a rock at me, indicating that I was annoying her and had to stop. She and Alec were sitting on a cut down tree, while Ty was pacing back and forward between a tree and a rock, frowning and looking as restless as I felt. But then, after a few more minutes, the cottage's door finally opened. Magnus stood in the doorway, looking exhausted. I was on my feet immediately while Ty was in front of Magnus in a split-second. "There was a lot of damage to be repaired, but she's okay now" Magnus said, answering our anticipation. A huge weight seemed to be lifted from me as relief took over. "The demon poison weakened her, though. She'll feel weak for a few days, but other than that she'll me fine."

Before anyone could say anything else, I ran passed the warlock into the small room. Eva lay on the bed, her eyes closed. All the toughness she usually carried herself with had disappeared and she looked younger than ever. Red lines, like years old disappearing scars, ran over every visible surface of her body. But yet, she was still alive. Healthy, even. I walked closer and took her hand in mine.

"Just don't hurt her, Jace. Or I'll kill you" A voice behind me said. "That is, if she hasn't done it herself already." I turned around to face Ty. "Don't worry about it" I said. "She doesn't see me that way." Ty snorted. "You're blind, right? Otherwise you would have seen that you are _all_ she sees these days." He paused. "It is annoying, really. She gets distracted every time you walk in the room while I'm training her. The other day she even fell off the wall when we practiced climbing." He continued. "Anyways, she likes you. And as far as I can tell you like her. Like I said, just don't hurt her." His eyes were looking at me dead serious.

I turned back to the sleeping figure on the bed. Did I imagine it or did the corners of her mouth really turn up the slightest bit? I looked over my shoulder. Ty had turned around and was walking out of the room. I took a leap of faith and bended forward over the bed, putting my lips on Eva's. Just as I was about to pull away, I felt soft hands in my neck, holding me in place. I opened my eyes, to see Eva's smiling face. I smiled back. "You all right?" I asked her. "I'm fine" She answered. "Is everyone else okay?" I nodded. "No one but the demons got hurt today." I said. She nodded, looking relieved. Then, her expression changed into something else. "And my father? Did you kill him?" I was taken aback by that. Her father? Was he the man I saw running away? "Your dad was there?" I asked. "Are you sure it was him?" She looked away. "Yes I'm sure. He wanted something from me and when I couldn't give him what he wanted, he let the demons have me." I was confused. "What did he want from you?"

"Information." She said. "Look, can you get Ty? I have to ask him something." I hesitated, not wanting to leave her side, but nodded and stood up straight.

"Ty" I called, once outside. He looked up in surprise. "Your sister needs you. Get your ass in there". He sent me a questioning look but I just shrugged and walked away. I knew it was stupid but I felt annoyed when she wanted Ty in the room instead of me. Isabelle came after me. "Do you know what happened?" She asked me. I shrugged. "She said it was her dad. He wanted information. I guess he didn't know her memory was erased."

EVA

When my brother walked into the room, I patted on the bed, indicating for him to sit down. "Is something wrong?" He asked in worried. I shook my head thoughtfully. "Not really. But I need to ask you something." He nodded, which I took as a gesture for me to go on. "Do angels exist?" I asked. He seemed surprised by my question. "I- ehm. Well, angels are intertwined with our whole history. You know the legend of the creation of Shadowhunters, right?" I nodded. "Yeah. Well, I don't know really, if they exist or if they are just legends. They could be real, why not? Demons are real." He said. "Why do you ask?" I looked down and took a deep breath. "That cave was dad's. He had the demons take me there because he needed me. Or well, he needed something from me." I looked up at Ty, who was visually shocked and confused. "What? But I didn't see him…. What did he want anyway?" He asked.

I frowned. "I'm not sure, really. He needed me to tell him something but of course I couldn't because I don't remember jack." I told my brother. "He was talking about an angel. An angel apparently made some kind of weapon that could destroy him. Made ME into a weapon, to use his words." I looked at Ty again. "I thought maybe he had told you something about that? About a weapon or about the angel he was talking about?"

To my disappointment he shook his head. "Maybe he only found out about it after I left" He said. "But I don't know… Are you sure he said that you ARE the weapon?" I nodded my head while biting my lip. "I guess we'll have to really try to find a way to get my memories back."

Then, a thought popped into my head. "Maybe this was what mom tried to protect me from" I said. "The whole angel weapon thing I mean"

He shrugged. "Maybe we should just, you know, wait with the memory-retrieving you know? For a few weeks or so. Until you are all better?"

I looked at him, dumbfounded. "No! Ty, we have to! I have to get my memory back. I mean, if there's something there that could help us beat dad, then we have to." My brother looked torn and walked out of the room. I let myself fall back in the pillow, feeling annoyed. Why wasn't Ty on my side on this? "Idiot" I muttered, as Isabelle and Alec entered the room. "Well, that's not a very nice thing to say to your visitors" Isabelle said, smiling lightly. I smiled back at her. "Sorry, Ty's being annoying." I told her. "Well that's nothing new" Alec said while flinging himself into the chair on the other side of the room.

"Yeah whatever" I said. "He doesn't want me to find a way to brake the mindblock thing".

Isabelle frowned. "Why not?" She asked. I sighed and told them what I had told Ty before. "You see why I have to know what I forgot?" I ended. They both responded at the same time. "Yes, definitely!" Said Isabelle, while Alec said "I can see where Ty's coming from."

"You are on HIS side?" I exclaimed. "Chill!" He said. "I'm just saying I can see where he's coming from. The guy is dangerous, Eve! And when he finds out about it when you know, he'll find a way to get it out of you. And it probably won't be pleasant." He paused before continuing to speak. "Look, all I'm saying is that I would feel the same way if it were Isabelle. You're his little sister, he wants to protect you."

I rolled my eyes at him. He walked out the door, laughing.

"So, any ideas on how to get your memory back?" Isabelle asked, grinning.

Note: Sorry about the delay guys! School's been hell these past few days, so I didn't have a whole lot of time to write. Actually, it's gonna be hell for the whole upcoming period. I am going to try to write as much as possible, but my inspiration is lacking a bit as well. Anyway, thanks for reading! =)


	16. Chapter 16 - Teaming up

JACE

Right before we were going to head back to the Institute, Magnus got us some quads so that we wouldn't have to walk back with Eva, Ty came to me. He did not look very happy.

"Don't tell her you know about what I'm about to tell you" He said. I was confused, but gestured for him to go on. "An angel has turned Eva into a weapon against my dad. Now she is dying to get her memories back so that she can be that 'weapon' again and stop him"

An image from earlier that day came back to me suddenly. "But that's good, right?" I asked. "One of the demons, it spoke to me before I killed it. "Muoste rish Fertigo tir". Fertigo will rise highest. Fertigo is your dad right?" He nodded. "Yes. It's the name he gave himself. Apparently Finnion was not evil enough for him." I responded, feeling excited about the possible solution to the biggest problem in our life. "So it probably means he has loads of demons on his side already, let alone all the Shadowhunters he has been blackmailing and brainwashing. If Eva can find a way to stop him, that's great! We should help her.

Anger was written all over Ty's face when he looked at me. "You just don't get it, do you? What do you think will happen when Eva gets her memory back? When she becomes an angelic weapon? Because something WILL happen. It will probably kill her, Jace. Angelic powers are strong, and to become one of their _weapons_? That will be a lot of power. And even if it would not kill her, there is no way that my dad and his demons will allow her to live." He looked at me again, grimly, and I knew he was right.

"So-" I started, but Ty wasn't done yet. "So we're going to do everything we can to prevent that from happening. You have to distract her." He said.

"Why me? What can I do about it?"

He looked at me dryly. "Seriously?"

"Wait.. You want me to –" Ty held up his hands, cutting me off. "I wish very much not to know the ending of that sentence. Just do whatever you can to keep her away from it. Keep her distracted from the whole memory thing."

I nodded, just as Alec joined us.

"If you really want to keep her from looking for it, you probably want to keep her away from Isabelle, too." He said, indicating that he overheard our conversation. Ty cursed and walked back to the cottage.

"So you basically have his permission to go after his sister?" Alec asked, laughing.

I smiled while shrugging. I felt happy but a little confused, too. I was happy because I liked Eva, a lot. And she seemed to like me too. But while it was cool that Ty didn't have a problem with it, it felt weird that he gave me permission and a goal to obtain within the relationship. But he was right. Finding Eva's memory would be too dangerous for her. And I had only just met her. I didn't want to lose her again.

Alec came out of the cottage again, still looking irritated, followed by Isabelle who supported Eva. I walked up to them, sweeping Eva off her feet into my arms and carried her to one of the quads. She giggled. "Eva" I said. "Did I actually just hear you giggle?" I laughed. She grinned at me and shrugged. "What can I say. You bring out the little girl in me."

I put her down on the quad, and sat down behind her. She let her back fall against my chest. Somewhere along the hour and a half long drive, I felt her falling asleep. I made sure she couldn't fall of. When we arrived at the institute, I waved goodnight to the others and walked to Eva's room, holding her in my arms. I layed her down on the bed and hesitated. Stay or go? Just as I decided on go and turned around, Eva's hand caught my wrist and pulled me back. "Just lay down with me" She whispered, pulling me onto her bed. With another moment of hesitation, I lied down on the bed next to her, on top of the sheets. I felt her sigh beside me. "Don't be a sissy, get next to me." She said, her voice thick with sleep. I shook my head but took off my shirt and got underneath the sheets next to her. She laid her head on my chest and I put my arm around her. As I could feel her fall asleep, I pressed my lips against the top of her head and closed my eyes too.

When I woke up the next morning, Eva was no longer in my arms. I quickly got to my feet and made my way to the kitchen. Eva was leaning on a counter, a steaming mug of coffee in her hands. On the other side of the counter was Isabelle. As soon as they saw me come in, their conversation stopped. I lifted an eyebrow, but seeing that we both knew what they had been talking about I didn't say anything.

"So.. I was thinking" I told Eva. "You have anything to do today? 'Cause I was thinking I wanted to take you somewhere."

Her eyes shined. "Where do you want to take me?" I didn't answer her question, but smiled and repeated my own question instead. "Are you free today?"

She smiled back. "I was supposed to train with Ty, but I suppose I could push that forward to tomorrow."

"Good." I said. "Meet me in the hall in half an hour." I walked to the kitchen door, grabbing an apple on my way out.

Forty-five minutes later , Eva came walking down the stairs. "You're late"

"Fashionably" She replied. "So. Where are we going?"

"You'll see. Put on your coat, it's cold outside." I said, and walked out the front door.

We walked through New York for about half an hour when I pulled us to a halt. "We're here" I said. She looked around her. "You wanted to show me a random street corner of New York? Gee, that really is something new. Awesome!"

I shook my head an smiled. "No, look closer. Try to see through the glamour."

I could almost feel her smile when she saw.


	17. Chapter 17 - Distraction

EVA

When I first faced the direction Jace was facing, all I saw was an ordinary rundown house with planks covering the windows. I squinted, trying to concentrate as hard as possible, but I still couldn't see through the glamour. Then, an image appeared in my mind. I saw it as clearly as if I was reading it in a book. Sight. With the rune in the back of my mind, I looked through my squinted eyes at the building again. And I saw. "What is this place?" I whispered. Where the house used to be was now a- it was kind of hard to describe. There was a fairy-tale like building. Ever seen Peter Pan? Well, combine the Lost Boys place with a modern house and a tiny version of Cinderella's castle, and then you sort of have the place that I was seeing. As I said, it's kind of hard to describe. Just take it from me: It was awesome.

"It's a hide out." Jace said. "Alec, Ty and I used to come here all the time. We sort of made it what it is now- Even though I never looked quite as ehm – magical – before Magnus put his hands on it. Anyways, before we got here, it looked like the dump you saw in the glamour."

I was still looking at the building, struggling to keep looking through the fake picture it wanted me to see.

"So you guys would just like, hang out here?" I asked. "Did you ever bring any girls? Wait- does Isabelle know about this place?"

He wasn't facing me but I could see him shaking his head slightly from the corner of my mind.

"It's not like that." He said. "We always came here to train, or prepare for a hunt. No one's ever been here besides Alec, Ty and me. And Magnus. Isabelle used to get furious when we would go here without telling her where we'd go."

I smiled. "So why am I allowed here?"

He hesitated for a second before answering me. "It's just… Well, I don't know really." He smiled back. "Come on, let's go inside."

He opened the door for me and I stepped inside. The inside of the little house was a lot more spacious than the outside would lead you to believe. We were standing in a narrow hallway, facing a large room with barely any furniture in it.

"This is the main room, where we train and all." Jace explained behind me. "Come, I'll show you upstairs." He took my arm and lead me up a staircase on the other end of the hallway. It was made out of marble and pictures of demons and other monsters decorated the walls. It was a strange combination of very classy and the typical, harsh and dark Shadowhunter style. I couldn't shake the feeling that Magnus had something to do with the classy part. The upstairs was very different than I had expected. Where the downstairs had definitely been made and styled for practicality in training, the upstairs had a very warm and comfortable feel. It looked like the house I had always envisioned for myself when I was still living on the street.

"Do you like it?" He asked. He wrapped his arms around me. "I love it. It's so.. Cozy!" I told him. "Did you and the guys decorated it yourself?" I asked, incredulous.

He grinned. "I had Magnus redecorate it for the occasion, if you must know. It used to be.. Well, more of a cave instead of a home."

I turned around to face it. "You did this for me?" He shrugged, and pulled me close again. "I thought we could use some time away from the institute together. And it doesn't hurt that Ty isn't trying to kill me with his eyes every time I do this."

"Do what?" I asked.

"This." His hands cupped my face, closing in the space between us. I closed my eyes as I felt his lips on mine, careful and soft. My heart immediately started pounding in my chest and I laced my hands together behind his neck, standing on my tippy-toes to get even closer to him. His hands firmly gripped my back as our kiss deepened and he lifted me. I wrapped my legs around his waist while gasping for air, but not wanting to let go at the same time.

His breathing got heavier as well and he walked us to the big couch. He laid us down on the couch and broke our kiss, hovering over me. "Are you okay? I mean, if you want to stop – " I answered him by pulling him on top of me and locking my lips on his. After laying like that for a while, my hands found the hem of his shirt, pulling it up. He didn't hesitate this time, and sat up to take his shirt off. "Damn" I whispered as my hands flew over his muscular torso. I had never seen Jace without a shirt before, but… He was perfect. Like, magazine perfect. I suddenly felt self-conscious when he took my shirt off. I wasn't perfect. Nowhere near. I mean, Magnus took away most of the scars, but some where still there. And I didn't have the fancy underwear, excuse me, lingerie, he was used to seeing on girls looking as gorgeous as Isabelle.

But then I saw his face. He looked at me like I looked at him. And then he kissed me again, softer this time. His hands caressed my back and sides, and I let go again, floating away in the moment. The perfect moment, with Jace.

I really am sorry for the massive delay! I was sick for a week and I couldn't look at my computer screen without barfing. (Sorry for the not-so-subtle description ;) )


	18. Chapter 18 - Warm

We were sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace, which had a fire burning. Jace was leaning against the sofa, with me leaning onto his chest. It was a perfect moment. So peaceful. No, to answer your obvious question, we did not have sex. But that was okay. Everything about that night was perfect, and just being with Jace was enough for me. Being with him made me feel safe and peaceful. His lips pressed against my temple and I sighed with happiness. I leaned back against his chest, starting to feel a bit drowsy, and stared into the flames of the burning fire. It was somehow mesmerizing to me, hypnotizing, almost. Automatically, I leaned forward, towards the fire. I was barely even conscious of stretching my arm out, moving my hand into the flame.

"Eve, what are you doing?" Jace asked from behind me. His voice was only a distant whisper to me, like a breeze of wind that sways around your head on a sunny day. My hand was in the fire now, going in and out of sight with the flames licking around it. Behind the flames, something was glistering, like a diamond or a crystal catching the light from its surrounding. Well, it as more like _in_ the flames. Hard to explain. The shining thing I saw seemed to be a part of the fire, as much as it wasn't.

"Eva what the hell?!"

Something, or rather someone, as I discovered when I opened my eyes again, yanked me back, making me fall back on the rug and touching the sofa with my shoulder blades. Jace was hovering over me, one hand still on my shoulder while the other one caught my wrist. His eyes where wide, his mouth shut tight over his clenched jaws. He turned my hand over in his, and back again. His face turned into a frown and he took my other hand. The skin on both was perfectly pale and intact, not even so much as a scratch. But I knew that already. My, still dazed, mind drifted back to the moment I had touched the flames. They did not feel burning hot to me, but comforting. Nice and warm, like a warm shower on a cold snowy day.

"Jace" I said. He was still turning my hands over and over.

"Jace" I said again, when he didn't respond. "It didn't hurt me. I'm okay."

He finally looked up to my face. "But how?" His eyes were still worried, examining my face for signs of pain.

"I don't know" I responded. "I mean, I know it sounds weird, please don't laugh, but I think it, the fire, I think it was trying to show me something. I saw something in the fire."

"What was it?" He asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know, really. I didn't see it clearly and then you pulled me back. Maybe if i-" I reached for the fire again, but this time it was just that- a fire. No more comforting glow, but ordinary burning flames. I quickly pulled back my hand before I burned myself. I was disappointed. For a few seconds I had thought that I was like a ruler of fire. A fire-master, like in Avatar. But maybe I was just imagining things.

But then I remembered what Ty had told me, one of the first days after we found each other.

"_It's the symbol for fire. Our family has had a strong affinity with fire for ages."_

Absent-mindedly I stroke the old, fading scar – I mean, rune- on my wrist.

"I have to talk to Ty" I told Jace. Bang. Perfect moment ruined. But I couldn't put it off. I mean, I had been immune to fire for a moment, that's pretty massive. I wanted to know more about it. And Ty knew more. At least, I hoped he did.

Jace sighed, clearly disappointed by the sudden cut-off of our alone time together, but grabbed behind the sofa to get his shirt. While he pulled his shirt back on I had to restrain myself not to pull him back, and pull my own shirt on instead.

Holding hands, we made our way back to the Institute.


	19. Chapter 19 - Myths

"Ty!" I yelled as Jace and I entered through the big doors of the Institute. No one answered.

"He's probably in the library" Jace said. I looked at him.

"How do you know?"

"It's 4 pm. Ty is always at the library at 4 pm." Jace answered, as if it was super obvious.

In the little time I had spent with them, I had learned that Shadowhunters were pretty old-fashioned, and very much set in their ways. I guess it shouldn't have surprised me that my brother apparently had a strict daily routine with little time for relaxing and fun. After a look at Jace, I decided not to get into it and walked up the stairs, on my way to the library.

"Ty" I called again, once I was at the library's entrance. I spotted my brother at the big, antique looking wooden table at the center of the room.

"Little sis" He looked up from the big, leather-bound book he was reading. "I didn't expect to see you back here for at least a few more hours." His smiling face turned serious. "Did Jace do something?" He demanded.

Hastily I shook my head. "No, no! Jace was great!"

My brother's face now changed from worried to disgusted. "Come on, Eve" He whined.

"God, that's not what I meant you idiot. Besides, we didn't even – " I stopped mid-sentence after another look at Ty's face.

"Anyways, that's not why I'm here. Back at your mancave-thingy, which is quite nice by the way, something happened. Don't worry, it's nothing bad." I added quickly. "Or well, at least I don't think it was."

"What was it then?" Ty said, encouraging me to go on. Hesistantly, I continued.

"Okay. So, as I said, don't freak out. Right." I inhaled deeply. "Remember how you told me our family has a "strong affinity for fire"?" Ty nodded.

"Well, ehm, let's say that the fire liked me back today." Confusion started to cloud my brother's face and I sighed.

"Okay, so I sorta kinda put my hand in the burning fire and I liked it."

His gaze immediately went to my hands, but when he saw they were unharmed he relaxed.

"So, what? You like to burn yourself? You're delusional?"

"No, dickhead" I said, irritated. "I mean I put my hand in the fire and it didn't hurt me."

Before Ty could say anything, I continued. "Actually, I think it was trying to like, show me something. The fire, I mean."

Ty looked taken aback by this but, to my surprise, he didn't laugh or make some snotty comment about me being crazy or anything like that. Instead he said: "You sure, Eva? What did you see?"

I blinked, still surprised that he believed me. "I'm not sure. It was – shiny, I guess. Like some kind of rock, or a diamond. But, wait. You ever heard about anything like this? I mean, you know what it is?"

Ty seemed to be deep in thought for a little while, scratching the back of his head before answering me. "Yes. I think. I read something a while back. But it was about – well if that was true.. I mean, everyone has always thought it was a myth."

"What is?" I asked. The anticipation was killing me. "Wait. I'll be right back" Ty said, and walked to the second part of the library.

He seemed to take ages, even though he was probably only gone for a few minutes. By the time he got back, I was so filled with anticipation that I couldn't sit still anymore and was doing cartwheels around the big room. After cartwheel number 10, I looked up dizzily. Ty, at that moment he was spinning up and down in front of me, was leaning on the table with a giant book under his arm. He looked amused. "Done?" He smiled.

I nodded and walked towards him, steadying myself on the table. "This is the book I was talking about. It's about 500 years old. Shadowhunters wrote their experiences in it, resulting in almost an encyclopedia of Shadowhunter's myths, believes and knowledge." He laid it down on the table. It's leather cover was cracked and bended on all sides. I could almost feel the energy pouring out of it: The energy of hundreds of Shadowhunters who wanted to make the world a better place.

Ty opened the book, revealing its brittle yellow pages. My brother started to carefully flip through the pages, too fast for me to really read any of it. I could only get bits and pieces, and those little pieces made me want to read more. But not before finding out what was happening to me. "Here it is" Ty said, sliding the book towards the middle of the table so that I could read along with him. "It's an old legend, dating from the early days of Shadowhunters."

I followed his gaze to the book and read the parchment pages, filled with a cursive, very fine writing, out loud.

"_It is said that those who were born under the astrological signs of Aries, Leo and Sagittarius on the night the moons aligned, would be born with a strong affinity for Fire. These would be known as the Predicts; The alignment of the moons was to be a sign of the Angel Gabriel, ruler of the Sun and Keeper of the Fire. Those born in the bloodline of a Predict may as well possess this affinity and thus be a Predict of their own. Only some of those born in the bloodline will become Predicts._

_It was said that Gabriel could, if he desired, bless a Predict with even greater power. Power of fire, stronger than any mortal weapon. Only one case was known in which a Predict was Blessed this way. Gabriel, so it was said, gave a young Shadowhunter his Blessing, and a purpose to accompany this Blessing. The young one was to destroy the one of the Princes of Hell, Azazel. He failed to fulfill this task, but managed to Bind Azazel to the rocks of Dudual and while doing so, protecting the mortal world from his Dark lead."_

I read. When I was finished, I looked at my brother, who looked angry.

"Damn it" He cursed. "I hire Jace to keep you from finding out stuff like this, only to lead you to it with my own damn curiosity."

My heart started racing. Ty clearly did not understand what he just said to me. But, there it was. He turned his head to face me, eyes wide with the realization. "Eva, I did not mean-"

"To tell me that you're Jace's pimp. I get it, it's not a very appealing occupation." I spat the words to him before storming out of the library, to my own room.

YESSS over 20.000 words! I am a little proud of myself for making it this far =)

Off to the 50K! Haha (I'm an optimist)


	20. Chapter 20 - Powers

Throwing myself on my bed whilst burying my head in my pillow, I wallowed in self-pity for a few minutes until I started to get annoyed with my own weakness. I mean, it's ridiculous, right? I was possibly gifted with an incredible power (in my head it looked like the Kamehameha from Dragonball-Z. I watched that show every day when I lived with my mom.). But truthfully, the only thing I could think off at that moment was the one line Ty had said that didn't have anything to do with powers or angels or demons.

"_I hired Jace to distract you"._

The line kept on running through my head involuntarily. But come on, you know how it feels, right?

_I should have known_. I thought, while muttering "Stupid, stupid, stupid" to myself. I should have known that a guy like Jace would never go for girls like me. Guys like Jace went for the Isabelles. Perfect, beautiful Isabelles. Which reminded me of something. I got my phone and texted Isabelle

Barely even a minute later, a quick ruffle sounded on my door before it opened. "Everything okay? You slammed that door pretty hard." Jace said smiling slightly, while pulling a hand through his – slightly too long- hair. Seeing him made a mix of anger, sadness and hysterics wash over me.

"It's okay." I said, my voice like ice-cold venom. "You don't have to play Ty's little servant anymore. I already know more than he ever wanted me to." _Because of his own stupidity_, I added silently.

Jace looked confused. Probably didn't expect me to find out this soon. I guess I was lucky for having such an idiot for a brother. Before Jace could say anything, I got up from the bed and slipped around him through the doorway.

It took me a little while to find Isabelle's within the numerous rooms the Institute held. When I finally found it, it was marked with some silvery cloth covered in sequence popping out from under the door and the sound of eclectic music, muted by the thick, old wood.

I pounded on the door. "Isabelle!" I called. "ISABELLE!"

This process repeated itself a few more times until Isabelle opened the door, looking at me as if I had only slightly knocked on her door instead of almost pounding through it.

"Change of plans" I said, slightly out of breath. "My room was invaded, so we'll talk in here."

I walked passed her into the room. For a second I looked around me in amazement before sitting down on one of the limited empty spaces on the bed. The room looked like Izzy's room had when we were little: Like a giant disco ball filled with clothes and random stuff had exploded in the middle of it. Only now the ball had been black, gold and silver instead of bright pink. Isabelle, making a face at me when she saw my baffled expression, shoved a load of clothes off of her bed and sat down beside me.

"So, why again couldn't we do this in your room?"

I felt my face twitch as she made me think of Jace. "Why is not important." I said. "I need to tell you something."

When I didn't continue right away, Isabelle threw a ball of socks at me. "Well, get on with it then!" She said. I sighed, and relayed the myth to her.

"So, if the story is true, and it probably is since my loving daddy told me that the angel had made me his weapon, I supposedly have some mega fire power." I concluded.

Isabelle was staring at me, her mouth hanging open slightly. "Do it." She said.

I frowned. "Do what?"

"What do you think? Kiss me? Do your power thingy!"

My frown deepened. "I can't. We're not even sure that there even _is_ a power. Let alone how to use it."

My friend's face lit up. "Well, the best way is to try, right? What's the worst thing that could happen?"

I thought about it, about the Institute going up in flames to be exact, and shrugged in the end. "All right." I said, but then frowned again. "What should I do? I mean, to like – activate it?"

Izzy made a face before answering me. "Why should I know? Just – concentrate. Try to like, find the power inside you. Locate it, you know?" She looked serious, but I lifted an eyebrow. "What?" She exclaimed when she saw my expression. "I had a huge Yoga phase two years ago. Who knows, it might work."

I wanted so bad to make a sarcastic remark, but instead I closed my eyes. I couldn't, however, keep myself from mockingly folding my legs underneath me in a lotus pose.

I tried to do as she had told me, and focused. At first, the only thing I "found" was my own voice in my head, saying how ridiculous this was. Then, images of Jace appeared on the back of my eyelids. It took a lot of strength to push them under and try to focus on other things. Remembering Isabelle's words, I tried to focus on different parts of my body. Nothing really stood out to me or anything, but the whole focus-thing made me feel – well, different. It felt like a tingling sensation all over me. Wait no, all _inside_ me. My body was filled with little tingles. But no matter how I tried, I couldn't make sense of them. I couldn't put them together, couldn't control them.

"Eve, maybe we should call it quits for the night. You're sort of starting to turn blue."

When her voice broke through my concentration, I noticed that I was holding my breath. And had been for a while it seemed as I took a deep breath in.

"I felt something." I told her. "I want to try again. You have any more pointers?"

Isabelle put her hand on my shoulder. "You were at it for nearly 2 hours, Eve. You look completely drained." She said. I was ready to get angry with her, but as I stood up from the bed I had to steady myself on a pile of clothes balancing on the couch. I did feel drained. No way that Izzy would let me go on.

I nodded. "I guess you're right, I'm gonna head to bed. See you tomorrow okay?" I said. Isabelle nodded and I left the room.

When I got back to my own room, I hesitantly opened the door, peaking around it. I let out a sigh of relief when Jace wasn't there and closed the door behind me. Even though I felt absolutely drenched, I couldn't go to sleep. I had been so close to – getting it. I couldn't let it go and just wait for tomorrow. I had to try again.

I stretched my back and closed my eyes. I felt like I would fall asleep if I would touch the soft bed, so I decided to give it a go while standing. Just like a had a few minutes ago, I focused. And again, after pushing down the perturbing memories, I felt it. Without Isabelle there staring at me though, I felt like I could concentrate deeper. The tingles weren't just tingles anymore. I could feel them now: they felt like glowing strings, traveling through me without ever stopping. _That's it_. I thought. Using my mind, I tried to mold the way these shimmering strings went. Putting up blockages on their paths, making them go where I wanted them to go. Yes. I felt it. I controlled it. _ Now what?! _ I wondered. But at the same time, the silence in my room was broken. "EVA? What the hell are you – how are you. GET THE FUCK DOWN!"

I yelped in surprise of hearing Jaces voice, and flung my hand at him in aggravation. A few things happened at one: I fell. Out of nowhere. And I hit the floor hard. But that wasn't all. As I was falling, I had flung my hand. And where once the door had been was now a hole. I didn't see Jace anywhere, and a small fire burned in the – now empty- doorway.


End file.
